Hawks out to scoop the points

Manunda will march to Fretwell Park with their strongest squad yet and hold aspirations of putting an eight-point gap on their rivials in a crucial round 10 of AFL Cairns action. Sitting third on 24 points, the Hawks can beat fourth-placed Souths (20) and hope North Cairns beat Centrals Trinity (20) to give them some breathing space after battling through a tough early season period. Helping their cause will be the presence of player-coach Clinton Gribble and although Glenn Martin has been named to play, he and Willie Alick are both expected to be sidelined with ankle injuries. Gribble returned two weeks ago in a rotational role off the bench and expects to play big minutes after a bye gave him more rest time last weekend. "I was certainly getting a bit itchy on the sidelines," he said, referring to his six-week stint on the sidelines. "But I pulled up well after that last game and should be able to go hard this round." Souths, spearheaded by the unconvential but prolific forward Glen Gascoyne, have been tough to beat at home this season and wearing their special edition blue uniforms to raise awareness for depression will not be lacking in ticker. While Manunda are playing for a buffer, Souths can win it and draw level with the Hawks in third. That's not how Gribble is thinking though. "I think we are showing good signs every weekend and we were able to come out really strong in the second half in our last game. "We have a much more senior side this time than when we last played them and I think that will help us." In other games Saints will look to heap more misery on Port Douglas after thumping them by 143 points in round three this year. Norths play Centrals is the other clash, while Cairns City Lions' bye asssures them of four points this weekend.

Last Modified on 26/09/2012 08:42

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